Skip to main content

Interviews

“Online Learning with Aubrey”

Back to Interviews

Level

High-intermediate

Pre-Listening Question

What are the advantages and disadvantages of taking online courses?

Agree or Disagree? Let’s Spark Some Conversation!

These statements are designed to get everyone thinking, moving, and talking! The goal is to explore ideas, share opinions, and get ready for the next part of the lesson.

  • In a face-to-face classroom: Read each statement aloud. If you agree, move to one side of the room; if you disagree, move to the other. Talk with your group—why do you feel that way? Then, pair students with members of the other group and have students explain their reasons. Rotate partners for more practice.

  • In an online classroom: Use polls, emojis, or the chat box in your online platform to show your opinion. Then, join the conversation as a group or in breakout rooms. What do others think? Do you agree or disagree with them?

  • For independent learners: Read each statement and think about your opinion. Then say your answer out loud and explain your reason, as if you’re talking to a classmate. This helps you get ready to speak and join real conversations in English. Consider recording your ideas and self-assess your progress.

  1. Online learning is just as effective as classroom learning.
  2. It’s harder to stay motivated in an online class.
  3. Students can learn at their own pace more easily online.
  4. Online classes require stronger time management skills.
  5. Teachers can’t connect with students as well in online learning.
  6. Group work is more difficult in an online setting.
  7. Online learning makes education more accessible for everyone.
  8. Cheating is more common in online classes.
  9. Some subjects should never be taught online.
  10. The future of education will be mostly online.

Vocabulary and Expressions

Here are some words and expressions that appear in the video:

hard deadlines (verb): a deadline with a fixed date by which something needs to be done
– We have a hard deadline to turn in our essay by Friday.

stay on top of something (expression): be or stay in control of something
– There are many assignments in this class, so it is important to stay on top of your work from the very beginning.

finish up (verb): finish a task COMPLETELY (100%)
– I have to finish up this project by 5:00 p.m.

(In most cases, there is no difference between finish and finish up.)

allude to something (verb): refer to, hint at, call attention to something indirectly
– The teacher alluded to the possibility of a pop quiz over the next few days, but he wasn’t very direct about it.

Listening Comprehension Questions

Now, watch the interview and answer the comprehension questions. You can also turn on the automatically-generated captions for the video once you start it.


Transcript

Randall: In this video, Aubrey, Let’s talk about the pros and cons of online learning. I think there are a lot of advantages and disadvantages to it. What are your thoughts on this topic?

Aubrey: Yeah. So I think it can definitely be good. I like it when there are hard deadlines, right? So that, you know, you stay on top of things because I need to have deadlines. Um, otherwise you can get way behind and it’s just a waste of money. One thing I do like if you have video lectures that you watch online is you can speed them up.

Randall: Oh, that’s a really good point.

Aubrey: So, like, I’ll watch, like I listen to my audiobooks at like 1.5 speed. So, like, listening to a lecture at normal speed is really boring, but you can speed it up and listen to it as fast or as slow as you want. And that, that was really useful. Like during Covid, when I was finishing up my degree, um, I would speed up the lectures and even before then I would record my lectures on, on a recorder and then I would, you know,  edit them real quick and then speed them up and listen to them again.

Randall: Okay. And I think also in addition to that, there are people that enjoy the freedom, as you kind of mentioned or were alluding to, being able to study where and when you wanted.

Aubrey: Exactly.

Randall: Um, a lot of times people like it because they can be studying at a distance. In other words, they can be somewhere, you know, across the world. And yet taking a course on whatever it might be, uh, with other students who are studying from around the world as well.

Aubrey: Yeah. When I finished up my degree, um, I had gotten a job two hours away from my university, but because of Covid, everything was online and it wasn’t a problem.

Randall: And some people I mean, I think there are a lot of people that enjoy the face-to-face interaction. I think some courses lend themselves to that type of environment. For example, if I’m teaching an English class, focusing on communication and speaking.

Aubrey: Oh yeah, yeah.

Randall: And, and your face-to-face, you’re right there with other students. Certainly, you can do a little bit of that on Zoom, but you don’t get that feeling of that presence of people being around you. I think that would be really critical, but not so much if you’re, for example, taking a course on, you know, some aspect of art history. It’s a lecture and there are 300 other people in the class and there’s no need for that type of engagement and interaction with the teacher, then that would work.

Aubrey: Yeah, exactly. And I’m looking into going back to school just to learn some coding and that’s gonna be perfect online.

Randall: Yeah. All right. Well, thank you, Aubrey, for sharing your thoughts on this particular topic.

Conversation Questions

Describe an experience of taking an online class. What did you enjoy most about it? What were some of the challenges associated with studying online?

Try More Free Listening at Dailyesl.com